maryland zoo at baltimore

Emma's had the good luck to compare zoos in three different states. Yesterday, we went on a class field trip to the Maryland Zoo at Baltimore. After the San Diego zoo, I have to be honest, I didn't have super high expectations. In reality, I was very pleasantly surprised. The zoo is easy to get to, easy to park, easy to navigate, and was not crowded in the least. It had all the 'classic' animals, and for the 2-5 age group, the size is just perfect. You can see the whole zoo in a few hours, and get a decent workout in if you bring a stroller. Since Emma had been fighting a fever, I told her that we wouldn't pass on the scheduled-months-ago-class-field trip, but that she should conserve her energy as much as possible by riding in the stroller. She happily obliged and we both had a great time.

The class met up at the entrance, and we met again for lunch, but in between we were able to wander around on our own. We spent a lot more time there than I had planned, because we were just enjoying it so much. The fresh air, the cool breeze, the exercise and the warm sunshine. I think we've been so desperate for great days like this!

I will spare you the graphic details (some people even took pictures!) but let's just say that spring love was in the air. Almost all the animals were out, and spring has definitely brought out the love hormones. A loooooot of the animals were in heat. I'll spare you a bad joke about the size of a giraffe's neck, but it was quite comical. :)

We had fun on the train ride, the awesome giant tree-trunk slide, feeding the giraffe's, an ice cream sandwich and the carousel. We saw lions, penguins, elephants, chimps, polar bears, snakes, vultures, the Baltimore Raven, gazelles, warthogs, ostriches, zebras, rhinoceroses, cheetahs, and our favorite of the day, the Snowy Owl. Only the camels seemed to be on vacation. It was so great, that I think we'll definitely be back. Our next stop: the National Zoo. Can you believe she's never been?!?!









And here's the African elephant munching on some out of bounds snacks :)